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Monday, March 12, 2012

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

(If you don't can't name the movie that the phrase "winner, winner, chicken dinner" came from . . . well, I really don't think we can be friends any more. Or maybe you could just go watch Tin Cup.)

Give Away Update: First things first! We hit 3000 page views some time on Saturday, which means that it's time for our first giveaway. We threw some of our favorite things together to make an extra special goodie basket for the lucky winner.

You can see for yourself what is included but I'll spell it out for you anyway: 3 no-slip bands made by yours truly, Coconut milk, Coconut water, Multi-grain Crisps, 34 Degrees Crackers (my very favorite), Roasted Pine Nut Hummus, a jar of sweet potato baby food, and . . . Spooky Juliet!!!!

I compiled a list of the first names of our four followers, everyone that had commented on a post, and everyone that had commented/liked a post on my facebook page (36 total). Awesome Jeff commented on a post (I think in hopes of winning so that I wouldn't be giving away the contents of his pantry) but was disqualified since he sleeps with the judge. (I'm actually afraid that at least half of the 3000 views are him, checking up on me to see if I'm publicly disparaging or embarrassing him).

So that it would be totally fair, I entered all of the names into a free List Randomizer offered on http://www.random.org/. Look for your name:

And then pushed enter, and the website generated a randomly ordered list. And, shockingly, the winner is this girl:

I know it seems totally rigged that my best friend from childhood and our guest post-er last week won, but . . . who can argue with technology?!? I promise I would never cheat anyone out of free hummus. And, now, it's kind of like she got paid for her post!

A Trying Weekend: After my call to arms on Friday, I bet you are dying to know what kinds of new things I tried this weekend. Specifically, I bet you are wondering whether I really tried chew.

So, here it is. Proof positive that I did, in fact, try chew. Well, actually, I think it was snuff, but because I'm a lady, I don't know the difference.

My mom will be relieved to hear that I thought it was positively revolting. I was the Marlboro man for all of about 20 seconds before I spat that nastiness in the trash. My dentist will also be relieved because, really, do I need anything else compromising my already precarious teeth. After the experience, I remain of the opinion that women who chew/snuff/spit are disgusting she-monsters and belong driving 18-wheelers.

That is Awesome Jeff looking at me in amusement horror in the reflection of the window.

Another Coo-koo-nut first: I triedmy hand at baking with coconut flour for the first time this weekend. My mom found a recipe for biscuits made with Greek yogurt. She made the recipe as directed, and they turned out great.

But, the urge to clean jack up a recipe is just too much for me to bear. So, without doing any research at all, I substituted the self-rising flour that was called for in the recipe with coconut flour. Figuring that further modifications were needed, I also threw in some egg whites (for more moisture and levity) and baking powder.

Ummmmm, it wasn't enough modifications. I mean, they look kind of okay. They almost look like biscuits, right? But, it was an epic fail. The texture was all wrong. They felt like a brick in my stomach and totally threw my gastrointestinal system into a noisy whirlwind of turbulent emotion. I'm going to need to tweak it a little more before I share the recipe. Maybe a lot.

Sweet, Sweet Temptations: Saturday was a minefield of sugary temptations. I was dodging the sugar missiles being projected at me left and right.

At my nephew's 4th birthday party, I was faced with these:

They were chocolate. So, no problemo. The vanilla cupcakes were a little harder to resist:

But, when these freshly baked peanut butter cookies came out, I actually had to physically leave the room:

And then, just when I thought the coast was clear, we went to my nephew's house for the "after party" and - I'm not kidding - there were boxes and boxes of these things laying around:

I love both of those cookies and highly suggest whirling some thin mints up in a shake if you are ambivalent about your sugar intake. If, like us, you are watching your sugar, you might try one of these reduced-sugar mint-chocolate shakes. I haven't yet but I plan on it . . . as soon as Lent is over.

With regard to all the sugary temptations before me, I held strong on Saturday, and instead gorged myself on enough salt to fill the dead sea:

I rationalized that I had ran far enough Saturday morning that I had to have some sort of sodium deficiency. I can't rationalize the fried and the fat though . . . except that I wanted them real bad . . .

My mother-in-law ate a fortune cookie. I really can't imagine why. I mean, with fresh pb cookies, thin mints, and tag alongs in the house . . . I really can't even fathom eating a fortune cookie . . . but she did. And, she gave me her fortune because she thought it was appropriate (and because I was almost cross-eyed at this point with desire for those Girl Scout cookies):

Inspiring, right? Yes. Definitely.

Now I'm off to do some paying work Internet research. My combat teacher had a tank top on this morning that I liked so much that I actually considered mugging her in the parking lot afterward, and I'm going to find it online. Also, I think I'll go buy a lottery ticket with those lucky numbers up there for Awesome Jeff. That guy loves the lottery.

2 comments:

My tried and true breakfast of cereal has changed to an egg, turkey sausage and toast in the last two weeks and this weekend I tried Panko encrusted salmon...most excellent and my favorite way to eat salmon now...and garlic parmesean edamame...slap your "mame" delicious. Tomorrow I'm trying a new headband at the gym, some coconut milk and a new pair of leggings under a dress I love. Totally passing on the tobacco products :) Jill